Not everyone who picks up a Lego brick is destined to become and architect but, it could be argued, almost everyone who has become an architect will have picked up a Lego brick at some time in their formative years. It could be argued further that many architects still play with Lego, only they don’t like to admit it.
So, to address that problem, the Danish company has brought out a new line – the Lego Architecture Studio – aimed squarely at the big kids that make their living in the architecture and design community. The new set is made up from over 1200 pieces, including 76 new and unique components, and is designed to allow as much artistic freedom and creativity to the user as possible. And every piece is white or transparent, as opposed to Lego’s usual fondness for a rainbow of bright primary colours, so as keep with the neutral, clean and professional aesthetic.
‘Architecture Studio takes Lego fans back to the basic building bricks that have inspired generations of aspiring architects, including me,’ said Common Office founder and urban planning expert Finn Williams, when speaking at the recent launch of the UK and European version at Lego’s flagship store in London.
By purposefully making the building elements as simple and uncomplicated as possible, with the variety and purpose of the pieces allowing a set to be flexible enough for use in anything from a small scale model to a re-creation of the Eiffel Tower. Lego is also attempting to secure the Studio kit’s appeal to those in the construction and engineering industries by including a special 250-page guide book. As well as contributions from architecture firms such as Sou Fujimoto, Ma Yansong and Moshe Safdie, the book also features thematic examples of architecture for inspiration, with diagrams to indicate scale, mass, surface and so on, plus there are pages of impressive projects built using only what’s included in the set.
Lego, the original blocks of which were created back in 1932 and eventually evolved into the type used today in 1958, has been a household name for decades. And, thanks to the company’s continued branching out into new territory every chance it can get, with Robotics sets, Junior versions, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and everything else, February of 2015 saw Lego supplant Ferrari as the ‘world’s most powerful brand’, according to Brand Finance.
There has also been substantial growth recently in the popularity of Lego’s Architecture series, which offers sets that have been designed to reproduce important buildings, allowing scale, Lego brick versions of the Louvre, Big Ben or the United Nations Headquarters, which no doubt inspired the company towards creating this Studio set for the grown-up architects to enjoy.